


The window is open and the weather is fine

by Zofiecfield



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Coming Out, F/F, Feelings, Fluff, Happy Ending, One Shot, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zofiecfield/pseuds/Zofiecfield
Summary: Waverly and Nicole meet through an online class and begin to get to know each other
Relationships: Waverly Earp & Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 24
Kudos: 207





	The window is open and the weather is fine

"Welcome to The Role of Women in Ancient Cults 101. I trust you've all prepared the assigned readings. This will be an intensive six week course, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-9pm MDT, and I expect full participation from each of you in all sessions. Since we're a small group, let's introduce ourselves briefly. Name, where you're from, and why you are enrolled in this course."

Waverly sat tall in her chair, and adjusted her screen to reduce the glare. This was her eighth virtual class this year through the university, but she still had butterflies. She hovered the mouse over the unmute button, ready.

Her eyes scanned across the screen, trying to pair voices with faces as classmates spoke up one by one. 

"Hi, I'm Nicole, in Newton, currently. I needed one more liberal arts credit to finish my degree, and I have a longstanding personal interest in the subject matter."

The flash of red hair caught her eye, there, in the corner of the screen. Nicole Haught, the label read. The woman smiled brightly into the camera, all teeth and dimples. Waverly chalked the flutter in her stomach up to another flock of first day of school butterflies. 

"Waverly Earp? Are you muted? Waverly?"

With a start, Waverly slammed her finger onto the unmute button, knocking over her water glass in the process. 

"Gah, shit!" She lunged for the glass, but too late, it was already obeying gravity's call, smashing with a very-audible crash. "Uh, Waverly. Purgatory. Studying ancient languages and cultures, and this is a prerequisite for The Use of the Female Pronoun in Early Mysticism, for which I am very excited..." She petered out at the end, realizing how fast and loud she was speaking. 

Hastily clicking the mute button again, she ducked off screen for a moment to sop up the water and collect herself. Smooth, Waverly. _What the hell was that?_ First day of class introductions were usually her jam. She sat back up and could have sworn she saw dimples again out of the corner of her eye, but by the time she could orient her vision, the corners of the mouth were quiet and attentive. Nicole, Nicole Haught.

Class proceeded uneventfully from there, and by the time they wrapped up at 9, Waverly was practically buzzing with enthusiasm. She really loved this ancient languages stuff, which was fortunate, given the family she'd been born into. Someone had to have a clue what was happening. 

Just as she was about to log off, a chat window popped up. 

> Nicole Haught: Be careful with that broken glass :)  
>  _Nicole Haught has left the meeting._

Waverly stared at the screen for a long moment, before shaking herself and logging off. She only then became aware of the smile stretching across her face. She tried to wipe it off, physically drawing her hand down across her face to reset, but the smile refused. _A new friend_ , she told herself. Yes, that's it.

Late into the next class, Waverly saw her chance reach out. If she was being honest with herself, she'd admit she had been searching for an excuse to talk to Nicole again and had been mentally drafting and discarding opening lines since Tuesday. But honesty is a bit overrated, it seems. She chose not to think too hard about it.

Halfway through the class, the instructor gave them 15 minutes to silently work on deciphering a passage. Waverly glanced at the corner of the screen, as was becoming a bit of a habit, just in time to see a fluffy orange cat butt obscure Nicole's video window. The butt loomed larger, as the cat stretched slowly. Waverly quickly snapped a screenshot. She opened up the private chat window and sent the photo.

> Waverly Earp: Love this new look of yours! Super cute. Fluff is really hot right now.

Waverly watched Nicole's head pop up behind the cat's fur, and shoo the beast away. She squinted at the photo and then flushed, covering her face for a moment. When she looked up, she was smiling, and still quite red.

> Nicole Haught: Sooooo, you have a thing for gingers, huh? 

Before Waverly could close her mouth and swallow the saliva that had suddenly, inexplicably, pooled there, the instructor was back and class resumed. Nicole grinned triumphantly, pretending to be interested in the page in front of her.

From then on, the private chat window was always open, and always active. 

During the third week, Nicole openly laughed when Wynonna burst through the door in the middle of Waverly's midterm presentation, wild and clearly well past tipsy. "Baby girl, where's the waffle iron? I'm doing an experiment. Whisky waffles for breakfast tomorrooooooooow!" Waverly gestured sharply at the camera, while still keeping her voice even and professional, explaining her thoughts on the depictions of the female form in ancient cave dwellings. Wynonna left quickly with a "Shit!" and a dramatic bow. 

> Nicole Haught: Suuuuuuper jealous. I want waffles.  
>  Waverly Earp: You can have them if you take Wynonna off my hands too! She's A LOT!  
>  Waverly Earp: Do you think anyone noticed?  
>  Nicole Haught: Don't worry about that. They were too busy being mesmerized by you.  
>  Nicole Haught: Great presentation, by the way! ;)

Waverly's cheeks were suddenly quite warm. Odd.

And then there was the evening Calamity Jane, taking advantage of her human's preoccupation with the screen, decided to scale the bookcase and made a daring leap for the lamp hanging over Nicole's head. She missed, having vastly overestimated her skills. She landed with a loud squawk, just as Nicole unmuted her microphone to answer a question. 

> Waverly Earp: 10/10 for the landing, 14/10 for comedic timing!  
>  Nicole Haught: That cat is going to be the death of me!!!!!

This light banter between them, which flowed so effortlessly, was severely distracting. And Waverly, who had never once texted or dozed off in a classroom, didn't mind the distraction one bit. It was a tingly and bubbly and delightful, like the feeling of really high-quality flirting. She chose not to think too hard about that.

Aside from these bits of banter (that made Waverly's pulse jump just a smidge), they usually used the private chat window for collaborating on assignments or tossing questions about the lecture material back and forth. Calamity Jane, who served to entertain the class with her adorably aggressive pleas for snacks and pats, also featured heavily.

But occasionally, as they grew more familiar, as this felt more like actual _friends_ , the chat window took on more weight, like Tuesday of the fourth week.

> Nicole Haught: Did you hire a stripper for our entertainment? That'd not like you...  
>  Waverly Earp: What?  
>  Nicole Haught: Behind you.

Waverly turned around, curious, and found something not at all amusing. Champ Hardy, on again/off again boyfriend, toddler, and only option in 20 miles with a pulse, had entered the room, quietly stripped off his clothes, and was inching up behind her in only his tight white underwear. 

Waverly hissed at him and frantically motioned for him to leave the room, but he smiled and approached the camera. Though muted, the whole class watched as Champ bent down and attempted to kiss Waverly's neck and shoulders as she shoved him away repeatedly, face flushed with embarrassment and anger. He looked to be enjoying the game. She was not playing. Finally, she stood and physically shoved him out of the room. He played along, arms up in mock protest. She locked the door behind him and, forgetting her audience for a moment, leaned against the door with eyes closed and took a deep breath.

She returned to the desk and pasted back on her serious student face, even keeled but only barely masking how shaken and embarrassed she was. The instructor droned on and the class largely moved on with her.

> Nicole Haught: Hey, are you okay?  
>  Nicole Haught: Waverly?  
>  Waverly Earp: Of course!  
>  Nicole Haught: Who was that guy?  
>  Waverly Earp: Boyfriend. He's a doofus.  
>  Nicole Haught: No offense, but he seems like an ass.

Waverly typed for a moment, deleted it and tried again. On the third try at putting into words why the hell she still puts up with Champ, she gave up and closed the chat window. 

> Nicole Haught: I'm sorry, Waves. 

She went to bed sad that night, and couldn't quite explain why. Next class, they pretended it hadn't happened, and resumed their normal chat, a little forced on both sides, but that eased soon enough. 

They were like magnets. Eyes always drifting to the other's video window, fingers always drifting to the keyboard. It grew harder and harder to remember that class was in session and other people existed (and could see them in their distracted daze).

On the final day of class, the instructor used the last five minutes minutes to thank them for their participation, and to review the subsequent offerings in this particular track of classes.

> Waverly Earp: Are you taking 102 next semester?  
>  Nicole Haught: No, this was my last class. Off to the police academy!  
>  Waverly Earp: Oh, right.  
>  Waverly Earp: Exciting!

She held her breath for a moment, studiously trying not to show her disappointment, all too aware Nicole could see her.

> Nicole Haught: But here's my number. Maybe we can keep in touch?

Waverly tried to hide the grin but failed miserably. She entered the number in her phone and sent the first text.

> Waverly: Hi :) Yes, let's definitely keep in touch.

Butterflies in her stomach again. Must be last day of school jitters. She chose not to think too hard about that.

They texted frequently in the coming weeks, but eventually life interrupted and messages became less frequent on both sides. Waverly was taking a full course load and working full time, and Nicole was finishing at the academy and starting to look for jobs. _Friendships like this fade over time_ , Waverly told herself, and forcibly shrugged off the weight of that thought. 

But still, her heart jumped each time Nicole's name popped up on her screen. She chose not to think about why.

Eight months after class finished, a message came through, the first in weeks.

> Nicole: Just passed my final exams at the academy! Woot! Are you all done with classes?  
>  Waverly: Yes, two days ago! I'm taking two this summer, but I'm super excited about them, so they're essentially my vacation plans :P  
>  Nicole: Ha :)  
>  Nicole: So, hey, you live in Purgatory, right?  
>  Waverly: Yep, can't seem to leave...  
>  Nicole: I'm interviewing for a job with the Sheriff's Department there on Monday. I'll be getting into town on Sunday. Want to have dinner with me Sunday night?

Waverly's sudden intake of breath didn't register in her head. Honestly, not much made it through the happy fuzz that had descended on her.

> Waverly: Yes! I'd like that!  
>  Nicole: Excellent :)

Her fingers hesitated for a moment before plunging ahead. Her brain wasn't up for the challenge of concocting inhibitions or nerves at that particular moment.

> Waverly: Where are you staying while you're here?  
>  Nicole: I figured I'd camp? Or the internet claims there is a motel, right?  
>  Waverly: The campground here is essentially a hunting ground for unsavory characters of certain sorts. And the motel is a hunting ground for bedbugs. You should stay with me instead.  
>  Nicole: Really? You don't mind? I don't want to overstep...  
>  Waverly: Absolutely. Stay with me. I live with my sister on the outskirts of town. We have a spare bedroom.  
>  Nicole: Okay, thanks! Send me the address. I'll see you Sunday :) 

Waverly set her forehead down on the cool bar of Shorty's, still slightly damp from the rag over her shoulder. No matter. Nicole was coming to Purgatory, and every ounce of her was vibrating. Excitement and nerves. Totally normal when seeing a casual friend. Totally.

Nicole arrived at the homestead Sunday afternoon. Waverly flung the front door open, forgetting to pretend she hadn't been sitting by the window waiting.

Her instinct was to throw her arms around Nicole, but she caught herself just in time. "Hey, stranger," Nicole grinned, dimples on overdrive. 

"Hey." Waverly stood there on the porch for a long breath, smiling at Nicole, completely lost in the moment. Stunned a little by the height. And the hands, somehow. And...

Nicole smiled even broader, and quirked her head to the side. "Can I bring my bag in and freshen up for a second before we go to dinner?"

This shocked Waverly out of her reverie and straight into hostess mode, ushering Nicole inside and up to the spare bedroom, which she had meticulously cleaned daily since Nicole had texted, as an outlet for... no reason.

Nicole struck up easy chat as she put down her bags and peeked around the room. Waverly's body was finding vertical oddly challenging at the moment, and words were quite hard. But as Nicole filled the open air easily, Waverly began to relax. 

Odd, how comfortable this felt. Odd how familiar. Odd how Nicole just seemed to fit into this moment as though it had been waiting for her.

By the time they were slurping ramen at the little restaurant behind the public library, talk was flowing readily from both sides. They could have been mistaken for old friends. Or strangers on a very promising first date. 

Nope, she chose not to think about that.

The evening gave way to night and Nicole's interview was at 8am sharp, so they headed back to the homestead with intentions of bed. Two hours of laughter and tea on the couch interrupted that plan, but eventually they made it upstairs.

At the door to the spare room, Waverly wished Nicole a good sleep and turned to walk away. A soft hand wrapping around her wrist stopped her.

Waverly sucked in a hard breath. Why? Shhh. Don't think about that.

"Thank you for tonight, Waverly. I haven't had this much fun in a while." 

The smile on Nicole's face was too much for Waverly, who blurted out, "Are you a hugger? I'm a hugger."

Surprised, Nicole laughed, and then pulled Waverly gently into her arms.

Waverly fought to stay solid for a moment, but the warmth of those arms won out. She melted, completely.

Hugs between friends can totally feel like this. Like security and excitement and deep in her gut and please don't stop. She almost thought about it, but caught herself on the edge of it. Better not.

The hug ended eventually, and reluctantly, Waverly said goodnight and floated away to her room. She threw on pajamas (freshly washed, her softest ones, her favorites) and poured herself onto the quilt. 

She heard the bathroom door close, water running, open. Then the spare bedroom door open, close, open again. Wait, again?

A soft knock on her door. She shot out of bed, heart somewhere in the vicinity of her tonsils, and opened the door. Nicole stood there in silk and polka dots, hair hastily tied up.

"Hi, again. So, awkward, sorry. Uh, I think your sister is passed out on the spare bed?"

Waverly starred blankly at her for a moment, processing delayed by the polka dots and silk. "What?" She slipped past Nicole, more careful to avoid touching her than she had intended to be.

Sure enough, Wynonna was sprawled across the spare bed, snoring quietly. Waverly shoved her once to wake her, but this just resulted in Wynonna grumbling and rolling slightly, revealing the pool of saliva she had accumulated on the pillow. 

"Do you have sisters, Nicole? No? Sisters are hard. Great, of course, but hard." Waverly muttered this absentmindedly as she walked back towards her room, Nicole trailing behind her. Brain functioning vaguely on the top level but gears grinding hard underneath. 

With a bit of a breath, she turned sharply back to Nicole. Resolute. "You should just crash with me. Is that okay? We could shove her onto the floor, but she stinks and..."

Nicole was grinning again. Damn that grin and its butterflies. "Sounds great. I don't squirm too much."

"Well, I do, so buckle up." Waverly wondered, lightly, as she crawled into bed, what on earth had come over her. Sanity and her precious decorum had abandoned her, it appeared. But then Nicole was slipping under the covers, not two feet away, and turning off the light, and she forgot about thinking. 

"Goodnight, Waverly Earp, sleep well. Thank you for letting me stay." 

Waverly smiled into the darkness, and doubted highly that her body would still enough for sleep. _Hell, I may never sleep again_ , she thought ruefully, as her brain and body ignored her whirring heart, and she drifted off. 

Waverly woke in the middle of the night, entirely alert, all of a sudden. She sat up in bed, quiet, so as not to disturb Nicole, who had migrated closer over the hours. She picked up her phone and sent a single text, tapped out without hesitation. She hit send and curled back up under the blankets, closing the gap between them just a bit more.

> Waverly: Champ, we're over, for good this time. Please don't call. Wishing you all the best! xo 

In the morning, they ate donuts Nicole had brought from a shop near her house, and drank coffee slowly as the sun rose. Wynnona stumbled through the kitchen at some point, taking three donuts in one hand and stealing a slug from Waverly's mug.

She regarded Nicole vaguely. "Hey," she said, with a nod. Then turning to Waverly, "She's cute." With that, she wandered out of the kitchen. 

Waverly blushed fiercely and examined her donut, but Nicole mercifully changed the subject.

Well, sort of mercifully.

"What happened to your underwear-clad boyfriend, by the way?" She leaned back in her chair, face studiously neutral.

Waverly sat a bit more upright, took a sip of coffee, shrugged, and in the most casual voice she could manage, replied. "We broke up. He was kind of an ass."

A smile slipped across Nicole's lips. "Oh, yeah?"

"What about you? Seeing anyone?"

Nicole let out a chuckle. "When I was 20, I married a woman I'd just met, under the influence of impulsivity and adrenaline. Shockingly, it didn't last. Nothing serious since then. I've been lying low, just waiting."

"For what?" Waverly hadn't meant to ask.

"Truly getting to know someone is a risk, isn't it? I'm waiting for someone worth that risk." 

Waverly could have sworn, if she was the swearing type, that she'd seen Nicole wink. Surely not. She chose not to think about it.

Who are we kidding? She definitely started to think about it. 

And with each thought, intimidating as they were, she felt lighter and lighter.

8:00am came too quickly, the bags were in the car, and the last hug given. Waverly had the desperate impulse to make this stop, to halt the goodbye and somehow stretch the morning longer. Much longer. She had only begun to think the thoughts that needed thinking, she needed more time. But the world called and the car disappeared down the road. 

Two hours later, she sat at the kitchen table, slowly nibbling another donut and digging through her mountain of preparation reading for the summer term. Despite the heavy workload and no matter how hard she glared at the material, her eyes kept skidding across the table to her phone.

Patience, especially for something you want dearly but can't quite bring yourself to name yet, is terribly hard.

Finally, the screen lit up.

> Nicole: They offered me the job!

For the second time in 24 hours, she didn't hesitate. There was no need. The answer was already on her fingertips.

> Waverly: Take it.  
>  Nicole: I already did ;) I start in two weeks.

Heart absolutely soaring, she returned to her stack of books, humming a little and not bothering to stuff down the smile. Not bothering to stuff down the thoughts as they rose to the surface at a rolling boil.

Late that night, as she crawled into bed, she found the note on her pillow, in a gentle mix of script and print.

_Looking forward to knowing you, Waverly Earp. N_

* * *

" _Looking forward to knowing you._ That was the start of their first chapter, and today, we celebrate the start of their second. Friends, family, please raise your glasses. Waverly and Nicole, you are my sisters and my best friends. The world is shit some days, but it is better with you in it, together. I am so honored to stand here as witness as you take this next step on the path towards truly knowing each other. Cheers, loves. Now let’s eat cake!"


End file.
